Method of building dry seal, pistontype gas holders



J. W. ALLEN May 29, 1951 METHOD OF BUILDING DRY SEAL, PISTON-TYPE GASHOLDERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 9, 1948 I F v F R o zmn T L R I? O Do u 5 R5 B 2 III R 2 2 1 m 0/ F T T 5 3 I 0 r n y May 29, 1951 w, ALLEN2,554,768

METHOD OF BUILDING DRY SEAL, PISTON-TYPE GAS HOLDERS Filed July 9, 19482 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG 5.

FIG. 6.

INVENTOR;

Patented May 29, 1951 METHOD OF BUILDING DRY SEAL, PISTON- TYPE GASHOLDERS .John W. Allen, Chicago, 111., assignor to John'H. Wiggins,Chicago, Ill.

Application July 9, 1948, Serial No. 37,795

This invention relates to piston type gas holders and other fluidstorage apparatus of the kind that comprise a container or housinghaving a high side wall, a vertically-movable piston in said container,and a dry seal for maintaining a gastight joint between the piston andthe container side wall.

The main object of my invention is to provide a method or procedure thateffects a considerable saving in equipment and labor time, inconstructing the container or housing of an apparatus of the kindreferred to. Briefly described, my method or procedure contemplatesbuilding or fabricating the upper portion of the side wall and the roofof the container at a level or elevation lower than they occupy in thefinished structure, then moving said parts upwardly into their finalposition by fluid pressure applied to the piston of the apparatus, andthereafter, permanently connecting or joining together the upper andlower portions of the container side wall.

Figure l of the drawings is a vertical, transverse sectional view of apartially completed dry seal gas holder, illustrating one way ofpractising my method and showing the upper portion of the 1 containerside wall and the roof, after they have been built or fabricated at alevel lower than they occupy in the finished structure.

Figure 2 is a similar view, showing the upper portion of the containerside wall and the roof, raised to the position they occupy in thefinished structure.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, illustrating one way ofconnecting or joining the upper and lower portions of the container sidewall.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the gas holder afterit has been completed.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a partially completed gasholder, illustrating another way of practising my method and showing howthe upper portion of the container side wall can be directly mounted onand supported by the piston or a part carried by the piston, during theoperation of building or fabricating the said upper portion of thecontainer side wall.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, showing the upper portion of thecontainer side wall raised to its final position and ready tobe'connected or attached to the lower portion of the container sidewall; and

2 Claims. (Cl. 29148.2)

2 Figure 6 illustrates the container side wall after the upper and lowerportions have been joined together, and showing the piston at the end ofits upward stroke.

In Figures 1, 2, 2 and 3, the reference character A designates thebottom of the containeror casing of a dry seal, pressure-type gasholder, and B designates a vertically-movable piston in said container.Said container has a verticalside wall that comprises a lower portion Cand in inwardly off -set upper portion C said lower portion being formedby or composed of a cylindrical shell of the same diameter as the bottomof the container, and said upper portion being formed by or composed ofa cylindrical shell of less diameter than theshell C. The basic idea ofmy method or procedure is that the shell (3 is constructed as a completeunit, preferably on the interior of the shell C; it is then raised toits final position by fluid pressure applied to the piston of the gasholder, and thereafter, the two shells C and C are permanently joinedtogether so as to produce a side wall having an inwardly off-set upperportion. Due to the fact that the upper portion of the container sidewall is built or fabricated close to the ground or at a considerablylower level than it occupies in the finished structure, a substantialsaving is effected in equipment and labor time during the erection ofthe container side wall.

My broad idea is applicable to various kinds of dry seal, piston-typegas holders, and the up per portion of the side wall can be supported invarious ways during the fabrication of same and during the operation ofmoving it upwardly into position for attachment to the top edge of thelower portion of the side wall. In Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings Ihave shown how my method can be used in the construction of a gas holderwhose piston sealing means is composed of two gas-tight fabric sealingelements F and F that co-act with a backing and reinforcing structurecomposed of a vertically-movable, cylindrical backing member E arrangedin the space between the piston and the container side wall, and anannular backing member E rigidly attached to the piston and arranged inconcentric relation with the vertically-movable backing member E. Asshown in the drawings, the sealing element F is arranged on the outerside of the backing member E, and is attached to the container side walland to the lower end of the backing member E, and the sealing element Fis arranged on the inner side of said verticallymovable backing memberE, and is attached at one edge to the upper end of said backing memberand attached at its other edge to the lower end of the backing member151 carried by the piston. In building a gas holder equipped with apiston seal backing and reinforcing structure of the kind justdescribed, the fabric sealing elements F, F and their co-acting backingand reinforcing members are connected with each other and combined withthe piston and the lower portion C of the container side wall while thepiston B is resting on or supported by the bottom of the container,thereb completing the storage chamber of the apparatus and producing agas-tight space which will hold a fluid under pressure. Either before orafter the fabric sealing elements have been attached to the parts withwhich they are connected, I build a cylindrical shell C provided at itsbottom edge with a laterally-projecting flange Y that laps over andrests upon the top edge of the vertically-movable backing andreinforcing member E, as shown in Figure 2*. After completion of saidshell C which is to constitute the upper portion of the container sidewall, the roof D of the container is fabricated and permanently attachedto the top edge of said shell. Temporaryvertical supports U are thenarranged between the roof D and piston B, and thereafter compressed airor the like is admitted to the storage chamber of the apparatus formedby the piston, by the bottom of the container, by the lower portion C ofthe container side wall and by the piston sealing elements F and F Thepressure said air exerts on the piston and on the sealing elements F andF causes the piston and the backing I member E to move upwardly untilthe flange at the bottom edge of the shell C comes into engagement witha co-acting', inwardly-projecting flange Z at the top edge of the shellC, which forms the lower portion of the container side wall. The twoside wall portions C and C are then permanently joined, preferably by:welding them together and also installing lugs W, shown in Figure 2that help transmit the load of the shell C and roof D to the lowerportion C of the side wall. During the operation of raising the shell Cand roof D into the position they occupy in the finished structure, saidparts must be maintained in a level, or substantially level, position.Any suitable balancing mechanism can be used for this purpose. The oneherein illustrated consists of a series of cables R, R etc. attached tothe center of the piston B and leading downwardly from the center ofsame under sheaves S mounted on the bottom A of the container, thenoutwardly over the bottom of the container and through openings T in theside wall shell C equipped with stuffing boxes, then around sheaves Sand S mounted at the lower and upper ends, respectively, of the sidewall shell C, and thence downwardly from the top sheaves S to points ofattachment on the flange and at the lower end of the side wall shell CAfter the two side wall shells C and C have been permanently joinedtogether, as previously described, the temporary supports U between thepiston and roof are removed. The cables R, R etc. are then disconnectedfrom the shell C said cables are lengthened, and thereafter saidlengthened cables are passed over sheaves S carried by the roof, and arelead downwardly from said sheaves to points of attachment adjacent theperipheral edge of the piston B, as shown in Figure 3, so as to producea stabilizing mechanism which holds the piston level when the apparatusis performing its function.

In using my method or procedure to build a dry seal, piston-type gasholder whose piston sealing means is formed by a single fabric sealingelement F that co-acts with an annular backing member E attached to andprojecting upwardly from the peripheral edge of the piston B as shown inFigures 4, 5 and 6, the shell C which is to form the upper portion ofthe side wall of the container, is supported by the annular backingmember E on the piston during the operation of buildin or fabricatingsaid shell, and also while the roof of the container is being fabricatedand attached to said shell. During this operation the piston B rests onthe bottom A of the container, and the shell C is sup ported on thebacking member E by removable lugs I detachably connected to the lowerend of the shell C and projecting inwardly from same. After the fabricsealing element F has been attached to the periphery of the piston andto the shell C which forms the lower portion of the container side wall,compressed air or the like can be admitted to the space between thepiston and the bottom of the container so as to move the piston upwardlyhigh enough to cause the bottom edge of the shell C to be inapproximately horizontal alignment with the top edge of the shell C Saidshells are then permanently joined together preferably by welding a ring2 to the adjacent end portions of said shells, after which the temporarysupporting lugs I are removed from the shell C as shown in Figure 6, soas to not interfere with the vertical movement of the backing member Eon the piston during the rise and fall of the piston.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method for building a dry seal, piston-type gas holder composed ofa container, a piston in said container and a flexible sealing meansbridging the space between the piston and container side wall andattached to said parts, consisting of the following procedure:

(1) Building the bottom of the container of the apparatus and the lowerportion of the container side wall;

(2) Building the piston of the apparatus on the interior of the saidlower portion of the container side wall while the parts of said pistonare supported by the bottom of the container;

(3) Building the upper portion of the container side wall above thepiston, at a level considerably lower than itslevel in the finished sidewall of the container;

(4) Installing a flexible sealing means between the piston and the lowerportion of the container side wall and attaching said sealing means in agas-tight manner to the lower portion of the container side wall and tothe piston;

(4a) Fabricating and attaching a roof to said upper portion of thecontainer side wall;

(41)) Then arranging temporary, vertically-disposed supports betweensaid roof and the piston;

(5) Then admitting a medium under pressure to the space bounded by saidflexible sealing means, by the piston, by the container bottom and bythe lower portion of the container side wall, so as to raise the upperportion of the side wall to the position it occupies in the finishedside wall, and thereafter permanently connecting the upper and lowerportions of the container side wall together.

2. The method described in claim 1, plu the procedure of fabricating theroof of the apparatus and attaching said roof to the upper 'portion ofthe container side wa1l, prior to the operation of raising sai d'upperportion to its final position in the container side wall. 1

JOHN W. ALLEN.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,066,297 Mason Dec. 29, 19362,105,080 Jagshitz Jan. 11, 1938 2,304,354 Harvey Dec. 8, 1942 2,355,874Laird Aug. 15, 1944 2,360,222 Gruening et a1 Oct. 10, 1944

